Golf ball markers



3 SheetsSheet 1 Filed Aug. 14, 1953 IN V EN TOR.

# Rum-man A. HARMON BY ala-anal July 31, 1956 A, HARMON 2,756,670

GOLF BALL MARKERS Filed Aug. 14, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. RICHARD A. HARMON BY 2. wwwlnz July 31, 1956 R. A. HARMON 2,756,670

GOLF BALL MARKERS Filed Aug. 14, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. RICHARD A. HARMON United States Patent O GOLF BALL MARKERS Richard A. Harmon, Chicago, Ill.

Application August 14, 1953, Serial No. 374,318

7 Claims. (Cl. 101-38) This invention relates to a golf ball marker and concerns itself with an automatic machine which feeds the .golfballs to marking mechanism, rotates the same, marks the same during rotation with the desired symbol or symbols and then discharges the same and feeds another ball to the marking mechanism, without any manual operation.

It is an object of this invention to provide a golf ball marking machine having a hopper into which the balls are adapted to be placed and the machine started for feeding balls to marking mechanism, marking the same with desired symbols, and discharging the marked ballsin an automatic manner.

It is a further object of this invention to provide suitable holders for the balls in marking position With the holders being rotatable for rotating the balls during the marking operation.

It is a further object of this invention to mark the balls upon opposite sides with the same or different colored inks.

With these and other objects in view which will'become apparent as the description proceeds, this invention comprises the novel structure and combinations of parts hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out and defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred form of this invention and in which similar reference numerals refer to similar features in the different views:

Fig. 1 is a front end elevational view of agolf .ball marking machine involving this invention,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail view taken substantially upon the line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View of the interior with a side of the casing and pulley and motor omitted,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken upon the line 44 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of the machine showing the operating motor,

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially upon the line 66 of Fig. 5 looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken upon the line 7-7 of Fig. 6 looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a lever mechanism,

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional View partly in elevation taken upon the line 9-9 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken upon the line 1010 of Fig. 5, and

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view taken upon the line 11-11 of Fig. 4.

In referring now to the drawing, there is shown, a machine which is supported upon spaced side walls 9 which have supporting feet 911 at the bottom and outwardly directed hopper supporting flanges 9b at the top.

The walls are spaced apart by spacer bars 10 which'have reduced ends extending thru the walls 9 upon which nuts 11 are threaded against the walls. The reduced ends the pivot 31 and .the upstanding ,portion 29a.

Patented July 31, 1956 of-the bars 10 are extended beyond thenuts 11 to form pivots 12 for a purpose that will later appear.

The hopper 13 -is supportedupon the top ,flanges 9b of the side wallsfor receiving the .golf balls. The hopper slants downwardly from therear to the frontor feeding end. The hopper has an opening 14 in its bottom thru which the balls can fall. An agitator 15 having side arms 16 secured to a rod 17 .held by the side walls is suitably mounted to let .the balls pass between :the

arms 16. The rod 17 -.has an operating lever 18 held of the balls so that they are compelled to drop thrurthe opening provided by the shortened bottom. It will be noted that the chute 22 and its support Zllare inclined similar to the hopper 13 so that the -balls are caused to travel by gravity.

From the chute 22, the balls are designed todrop into a square guide 27, best shown vin vFig. 4 which is supported above the marking mechanism by any suitable means such as the bars 28 supported by the side walls to which the guide may be weldedor secured in any. suitable manner. The entry and departure of the balls from the guide 27 are controlled by a lever 29 bestshown in .Fig. 8.

has a top terminal portion 29b. A laterally extending .plate 290 is attached to the portion 29b and a laterally extending plate 29d is attached to the lever 29 between These plates 29cand 29d are hence vertically spaced and also longitudinally spaced for the ,purposeof controlling the inlet and outlet.to the.ball guide .27; the plate 290 controlling the inlet end while .the plate 29d controls the outlet end of the,guide.

The le'ver29 is operated in one direction by the ,pin 33 so that it'will swing on pivot 31.and move plate 29d fromnnder the guide 27 and allow a ball to dropdown upon the dished seat 36 while plate 29c moves over the top of the guide togprevent the next'ball from dropping into'the guide '27. As soon as pin'33 releaseslever29,

.a spring 37 which connects the lever with a 'pin 38 'on "seat 36 it is engaged by a holder '39 rotatable on a rod 40 whichextends into a sleeve bearing 41 on the adjacent wall 9. The outer end of the rod 40 carries an arm 42 which extends thru a suitable slot in the'bearing 41. Springs 43 connect the arm '42 with the adjacent wall '9 for normally urging the rod 40 and holder 39 inwardly.

.Directly opposite the holder 39 ,thereis a second holder 44 mounted upon a shaft 45.journalle'd in bearings 46 on the adjacent Wall 9. 'Theouter end of the shaft 45 carries a gear-47 which is rotated as will'later appear. The

3 rotation of gear 47 and shaft 45 will cause rotation of holder 44 which in turn will rotate the golf ball and the holder 39 during the marking operation.

Shaft 45 is driven by a motor 48 (Fig. which is connected by pulley 49, belt 50 and pulley 51 with shaft 45 for rotating gear 47 and ball holder 4-4. Gear 47 rotates gear 52 in an anti-clockwise direction. This gear 52 is mounted upon a shaft 53 which extends thru suitable apertures in the walls 9; the apertures being of such a size as to allow lateral movements of shaft 53, in order to take up variations in the size of the golf balls. For this purpose, the shaft 53 is supported by links 54 mounted upon the pivot pins 12 on the adjacent spacer bar 10.

The shaft 53 carries a two line marking roll 55 and the gear 52 on said shaft drives a gear 56 which is secured upon a shaft 57 extending thru slightly enlarged apertures 9a in the walls 9. The shaft 57 is supported upon links 58 which are pivotally mounted upon the pivot pins 12 extending from the adjacent spacer bar to allow for slight movement for variations in the size of the golf balls. The pins 12 on this bar 18 also support shorter links 59 in a pivotal manner, which links 59 carry a shaft 60. Shaft 57 carries an ink applying roll 61 and this ink applying roll 61 engages and drives an ink roll 62 on shaft 60. The ink roll 62 dips into an ink tank 63 which is supported upon rods 10 and 64 which in turn are supported by the side walls 9.

The hub of the gear 56 carries a pair of diametrically opposite pins 65 which are adapted for engaging and operating the lever 18 which operates the agitating bar 17 and the agitating member attached to said bar 17. The gear rotates in a clockwise direction with the result that the upper part of lever 18 will be shifted to the left as viewed in Fig. 3 to rock shaft 17. To return the lever and parts, a coil spring 18a may be attached to the lever and wall 9.

The aforementioned gear 47 also rotates the gear 35 in anti-clockwise direction, which gear 35 is secured upon a shaft 67 extending thru the side walls 9 as the other shafts. This shaft 67 is supported by links 54 pivoted to a pivot pin 12 in a manner similar to gear 52. The hub of the gear 35 carries a pin 33 which actuates the lever 29 which controls the feeding of the balls to the marking mechanism. A single line marker 69 is secured upon the shaft 67 opposite the two line marker 55.

The gear 35 drives a gear 70 in a clockwise direction. The gear 70 is secured to a shaft 71 which extends thru the walls 9 as the other shafts and this shaft 71 is supported by the links 58 pivotally mounted upon pivot pins 12 on the spacer bars 10. These pins 12 also have i attached thereto links 59 which support a shaft 72. The shaft 71 carries an inking roll 73 which in turn drives an ink roll 74 secured upon the shaft 72 just below the roll 73 as shown in Fig. 6. The roll 74 dips into an ink tank 74a supported upon a spacer rod 10 and a rod 64. The links 58 and 59 may be connected by springs 59a and the links 54 on shafts 53 and 67 may be connected by springs 54a.

The shafts supported by the links 54 and 58 as well as the shafts carrying the inking rolls extend thru slots 9 a in the walls 9 as shown in Fig. 9. As a result, the roll shafts can adjust themselves for variations in the diameters of golf balls. If a slightly larger golf ball is encountered, the rolls can spread apart slightly to accommodate the same and the springs can draw them together.

After a golf ball has been marked, a cam 75 on shaft 53 has rotated to engage arm 42 on the golf ball holder shaft 40 to move the holder outwardly to release the ball so it can escape into any receptacle that may be used. A cam 80 actuates lever 78 to tip the ball seat 36 to discharge a marked ball.

The ball seat 36 is mounted upon an arm 76 which is secured to a shaft 77. A lever 78 fastened to the shaft 77 has a bowed portion 79. adapted to be engaged by the cam 80 on shaft 67. A coil spring 81 connects the tail of the lever with the wall 9 adjacent thereto to return the seat 36. Thus the cam 80 lowers the seat and the spring 81 returns the seat after the cam rides off of the lever 78.

In the operation of the machine, there will be a golf ball in the guide 27 and when the motor is started, the pin 33 will operate lever 29 for opening the lower end of the guide 2'7 and allowing a ball to drop onto the dished seat 36. As soon as the pin 33 moves past the lever, the spring 37 will swing the lever back to close the lower end of the guide while another ball has fallen into the guide. As the lever 29 is first swung, it will open the outlet of the guide and close the inlet, but when it is swung back by the spring 37, it will close the outlet of the guide and open the inlet for another ball.

When the golf ball has been deposited upon the seat 36, it will be positioned between the two holders 39 and 44 which are normally sufficiently spaced to receive a ball. The holder 44 which rotates with the shaft will cause rotation of the ball on the seat and the holder 39 and maintain the same in marking position. At the same time, the marking rolls, the ink applying rolls and the ink rolls that dip into the tanks will be caused to rotate and the marking rolls and 69 will mark the ball with the desired symbols. In the present instance, the marking roll 55 is shown as making two lines upon the ball while the marking roll 69 makes a single line. But these marking rolls may have means thereon for making any desired symbols.

While the marking operation is going on, the cam 80 will be engaging lever 79 and lowering the seat 36 for the escape of the ball and when the marking operation is complete, the cam will engage the inner surface of the arm 42 and shift ball holder 39 outwardly to free the marked ball which can then fall by gravity and be discharged from the machine. When this cycle has been completed, pin 33 will have rotated into position to again operate lever 29 for depositing another ball upon the seat 36 which will have been elevated by spring 81 when cam 80 has moved from the bowed portion 79 of the lever.

In the drawing, no chute and receptacle has been shown I for receiving the marked balls as they are discharged from the machine, since it is contemplated that any suitable chute and receptacle can be used since it need not be a part of the machine but can be a separate device.

The invention is more particularly directed to a machine that automatically feeds the balls to suitable marking rolls or mechanism, marks the same and that can adjust the rolls to accommodate balls of varying diameters without any manual operation, and that can operate continuously to mark a large quantity of balls in a short time.

I am aware that many changes may be made and various details of construction may be modified without departing from the principles of this invention so I do not propose limiting the patent granted thereon otherwise than necessitated by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for marking golf balls, a pair of opposed rolls at least one of which is a marking roll, a ball holding seat between said rolls, means for moving said seat for discharging a marked ball, yielding means for returning said seat for receiving another ball, 0pposed holders for engaging a ball on said seat, means for delivering a ball to said seat and means for operating said marking rolls and shifting one of said holders.

2. In a machine for marking golf balls, 2. pair of opposed rolls at least one of which is a marking roll, a movable ball receiving seat between said rolls, means operated by the operation of said machine for delivering a ball to said seat, a shiftable holder for engaging one side of a ball, a rotatable holder for engaging the other side of said ball, power actuated mechanism for rotating said marking rolls and said rotatable holder and means actuated by said power actuated mechanism for shifting said shiftable holder and moving said ball seat for discharging a marked ball.

3. In a machine for marking golf balls, a hopper having a discharge opening, a vertical ball guide for receiving balls from said hopper, a lever having means for controlling the inlet to said guide and the outlet from said guide, a ball seat beneath said guide for receiving balls therefrom, a marking roll upon each side of said seat, a pair of holders for engaging a ball upon said seat, one of said holders being shiftable and the other being rotatable, said holders being in opposed relation, means for supporting said rolls for movement for accommodating diiferent sized balls, and operating mechanism for the rolls and means actuated by said operating mechanism for operat' ing said lever, said shiftable holder, and moving said seat for the purpose set forth.

4. In a machine for marking golf balls, a pair of spaced marking rolls, means for supporting said rolls for slight movement toward and from each other for accommodating balls of slightly diiferent size, a marking fluid applying roll engaging each marking roll, a pivot rod, a ball receiving seat between said marking rolls supported from said pivot rod, means for delivering balls to said seat, rotatable holders on opposed sides of said seat for holding the balls on said seat, means for operating said rolls and said holders and tipping said seat for discharging a marked ball, and means to move said holders toward and from each other to cause them first to grip a ball and then release it.

5. In a machine for marking golf balls, opposed rolls at least one of which is a marking roll, a ball holding seat adjacent said rolls, opposed holders on opposite sides of said seat for engaging a ball on the latter, a hopper for receiving the balls to be marked, said hopper having a discharge opening, a ball guide beneath said opening for receiving balls from said hopper and directing them to said seat, movable elements adjacent to and controlling the inlet and outlet to said guide, means for tipping said seat for discharging a marked ball; mechanism for operating said rolls, said movable elements and said seat tipping means; and means to rotate said holders to rotate the ball and to shift one relatively to the other to release the ball.

6. In a machine for marking golf balls, a hopper having a discharge opening, a vertical ball guide beneath said opening, spaced plates for controlling the inlet and outlet to said guide, a ball seat beneath said guide for receiving the balls therefrom, marking mechanism adjacent said seat, ball holding devices upon opposite sides of said seat rotatable and relatively movable from and toward each other, means for tipping said seat for discharging a marked ball and power operated mechanism for operating said marking mechanism, said aforesaid plates and said seat tipping means, and means to operate said holding devices.

7. In a machine for marking golf balls, a hopper having a discharge opening, a vertical guide for receiving balls from said hopper, devices for controlling the inlet to said guide and the outlet from said guide, a ball seat beneath said guide for receiving balls therefrom, a roll on each side of the seat at least one of which is a marking roll, a pair of holders for engaging a ball on said seat, one of said holders being shiftable from and toward the other and both being rotatable, operating mechanism for the rolls; and means actuated by said operating mechanism for operating said devices, shifting said shiftable holder and moving said seat to discharge balls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 879,849 Biette Feb. 25, 1908 1,106,712 James Aug. 11, 1914 1,314,043 Brewer Aug. 26, 1919 1,701,981 McGinness Feb. 12, 1929 1,990,498 Nordquist Feb. 12, 1935 2,041,574 Smallen May 19, 1936 2,109,360 Shurley Feb. 22, 1938 

